Halo Universe Explained: Part 9 - Halo 4 Speculation

As I post this, we are just a few sort hours from the launch of a game I have been waiting 5 years for.   Halo 4 - the continuation of Master Chief's story is almost here.  I can actually taste it.

I have desperately avoided spoilers and so my only insight into the events of Halo 4 are the official trailers and gameplay released by 343 studios, and the recent novels which feed directly into the Halo 4 storyline.  This will be the last chance for me to speculate on what we'll see happen in the game.  In a few short (or excruciatingly long) hours we'll see how right/wrong I am.

I think there will be two distinct story threads throughout Halo 4.  One will center on the larger picture of humanity's role in the Galaxy and their place as the inheritors to the Forerunner.  The second will revolve around making the Chief more identifiably human - something the series has failed to do to this point.

Lets begin with the bigger picture...  As Halo 3 closes we see the Chief and Cortana hurdling toward a mysterious planet.  We now know that planet to be Requiem and we know that it is the backdrop for the events of Halo 4.  On Requiem we know the chief will face off against two foes - one familiar and the other completely new.  The familiar foe is the Covenant...or more specifically remnants of the covenant who still despise humanity.  But why are the Covenant even on Requiem; an unknown planet in a previously unexplored part of the Galaxy?  The Covenant have traveled to Requiem because they believe the key to defeating humanity is located on Requiem.

Humanity is now militarily superior to the covenant, and the covenant knows that.  But the remnants of the Covenant learn of an ancient and powerful Forerunner who despised humanity and wanted them destroyed.  They learn that this ancient Forerunner - known as the Didact (discussed in previous posts) - was buried on the planet Requiem.  He is believed to be dead (like all forerunners) but they believe he may have left behind weapons and technology that could be used against humanity.  This off-shoot of the Covenant head to Requiem to unlock its secrets.  I suspect that in reality they awaken the actual Didact (note the games tag-line in the pic above).  The Didact and his forces (the Prometheons - the warrior class of Forerunners) do hate humanity and form the new foes the Chief must fend off.  Unfortunately for the Covenant, I suspect the Didact has very little use for them either.  In classic Halo style, this will be a 3-way war.

The second major story line is likely to be the development of the Master Chief as a more human character.  The exploration of his human side will be accomplished by the Chief coming to terms with the possibility that Cortana - his closest ally and friend - may die.  Smart AI's like Cortana tend to have a life span of 7 years.  After 7 years AIs have acquired so much data that they literally think themselves to death.  They are said to go "rampant".  Cortana has been operational for 8 years.  She is already pushing her luck.  Moreover, with all of the Forerunner data she has been exposed to it is believed she has acquired 2X the data of any other smart AI.  Expect to see Cortana fighting off the effects of rampancy throughout the new trilogy.

Other Things To Watch For -

Requiem - is the planet chief is floating towards at the end of Halo 3 and is where Halo 4 takes place.

The Infinity - This is the largest and most advanced ship ever built by humanity.  Much of its power comes from newly uncovered Forerunner technology.  The Infinity is three miles long!  It's existence is what convinces the covenant that they can not compete with humanity without their own Forerunner technology.  It is near Requiem because it is the ship that responds to Cortana's distress signal from whats left of the Forward Unto Dawn.

Commander Thomas Lasky - He is the XO of the Infinity.  He was the officer who receives the Distress call from Cortana.  A younger version of Lasky is also the main protagonist in the recent web series Halo:Forward Unto Dawn.  In that series we find out Lasky has a unique connection to the Master Chief.

Dr. Katherine Halsey - She was thought dead.  However, she was recently discovered alive and was arrested by the UNSC.  She is being held prisoner on the Infinity as punishment for her involvement in the  kidnapping of children for the Spartan II program.  Officially, she remains classified as deceased.  As a leading expert on Forerunner technology, the UNSC is forcing her to study the forerunner tech that has been uncovered since the end of the Covenant war.  Halsey is an expert in AI and her brain scan was used as the basis for Cortana.  I suspect Halsey will be instrumental in any effort to "save" Cortana from the onset of Rampancy.  Her knowledge will also be key to uncovering the mysteries of Requiem.

The Bad Guys - It has been confirmed that the Didact is the primary enemy in Halo 4.  I'm not sure of his motivations.  The Didact from the recent Novels did not hate humans. He was mostly dismissive of humans, believing them to be inferior to Forerunners.  I expect we will find whats changed and why he hates humans.  Also I would expect a appearance or at least a discussion of the Didact's wife, the Librarian.  She is known to have an affection for humans.  So that might create a balance with the Didacts hatred.

The reviews of the game have been outstanding.  Some have called it the best Halo campaign since Halo:CE.  I suspect it will be fun for any gamer who likes shooters.  But I have found that knowing the details of the Universe has made the campaigns go from good to great.  I hope these past 9 posts will help non-Halo fans a better understand the universe and make Halo 4 that much more enjoyable.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to continue to count down the seconds...

Halo Universe Explained - Part 8: Halo 4 Features

I'm a day late - Blame Sandy.

I have two posts left before Halo 4 launches on November 6^th.  I’ve read over my previous post and realized I’ve covered just about everything I wanted to cover.  So for the last two posts I want to focus on Halo 4.  With this post I am going to focus on the features of the game.  Next Monday, just hours before launch, I will post speculation on what might be happening in the story of Halo 4.

As a fan of the series I have devoured every last morsel on information about what to expect from Halo 4.  However, some planning on playing the game may not be as obsessed.  Well, this post is for you.  You’ll find out about the 2 versions of the game, the game modes, the all new progression system, and DLC plans.

Regular or Limited Edition

Halo 4 will be released as two versions a standard edition and a limited edition.  The self-explanatory standard edition retails for $60.  The limited edition retails for $100 but includes some goodies that may be worth it for die-hard fans.  Along with the game, the LE contains:

• the season pass which grants access to the first three map pack DLC ($30 value),
• immediate access to the 6 class specializations (discussed below in the progression system),
• a digital copy of the extended version (90 min.) of the web series Halo: Forward Unto Dawn
• various digital goods such as exclusive armor and weapon skins, avatar props, and in-game emblems.
• finally, a briefing packet on the UNSC Infinity – the largest ship ever built by humanity.

Note: In a surprise twist, the Halo 4 Limited Edition is actually limited in quantity.  The limited edition appears to be sold out at Gamestop, Walmart, and Amazon.

Halo 4 Game Modes

So you’ve picked up your version of the game…what can you play.

Campaign: The Halo 4 campaign features 4 player co-op and will return to the roots of the Halo franchise by featuring large scale vehicle battles mixed in with Infantry battles against some of the smartest AI in any FPS available.

Spartan-Ops: Spartan Ops is a whole new game mode for the Halo franchise.  Spartan-Ops is an episodic campaign that is Set 6 months after the events of Halo 4 and features a cast of Spartan-4’s known as Majestic Squad.  As a member of Majestic you will attempt to uncover the secrets of Requim.  Here is how it will work.  Each week, 343 studious will release a 10-15 minute CGI episode of Spartan-Ops, along with 5 playable missions that relate directly to CGI episode.  Spartan-Ops will be broken up into seasons.  The first season contain 10 episodes (50 playable missions) and is included both the standard and LE of the game.  Future seasons are in the works and will probably be DLC.

Wargames – the competitive MP for Halo 4 is known as Wargames.  343 studios are tying the MP to the Halo story by providing a fictional basis for the MP.  Wargames is set on the UNSC Infinity and features your very own Spartan-4.  Each MP “match” is meant to represent a “training” session within the virtual reality training facilities located on the Infinity.  Your performance in these “training missions” affects how quickly you progress through the Spartan-4 ranks.

Maps - 13 virtual settings (i.e. maps) are included in wargames:  

• 9 brand new maps: Abandoned, Longbow, Haven, Adrift, Complex, Solace, Exile, Meltdown, Vortex.
• 1 returning favorite – Ragnarok (remake of the Halo 3 classic Valhalla)
• Countless user-created Forge Maps – Players get three unique play spaces to Forge in: Ravine, Impact, and Erosion.  If Halo: Reach was any indication 343 will take the best user created maps and rotate them into to standard playlist.  In the end, Reach had between 25-50 maps in the playlist hopper.

Armor Abilities- Armor Abilities (AAs) were introduced in Halo: Reach.  Halo 4 adds some new AAs, while dropping other that did not mesh well with the Halo sandbox.  You can outfit your Spartan 4 in one of eight AAs: Jetpack, Thruster-pack, Camouflage, Prometheon Vision, Hardlight Shield, Hologram, Regeneration Field, and Deployable Turret.

Armor Mods- Each Spartan 4 can equip 2 armor mods - one tactical mod and one support mod. Tactical mods includes options that allow you to carry 2 primary weapons, have unlimited sprint, have shields recharge slightly faster,  pick-up grenades and ammo from the dead and more.  Support mods can provide larger weapon clips, allow you to reload faster, provide an increased radar range etc…

Progression System – The biggest change to Halo MP may well be the introduction of a new progression system that allows players to unlock in game content like weapons, AA and Armor mods.  Halo Reach had a similar progression system, but the unlocks were cosmetic only.  Your Spartan-4 will progress through 50 ranks.  After completing rank-50, you can select a specialization.  There are six specializations to choose from.  Each specialization contains 10 additional ranks As you progress through those rankes you will unlocking specialization-specific goodies.  After completing specialization rank 10 you unlock one of the specialization armor mods.  When the game is released you will only be able to choose from 2 of the specializations (unless you have the LE version, then you will have access to all 6 from the start). All together, your Spartan can reach a max rank of 110.

Plans for DLC

Wargames: 343 studios has already announced 3 future map packs.  They are scheduled for December '12, February '13, and May '13. The maps are included free with the LE version of the game.  If you don’t have the LE version you can purchase a separate season pass for $25.  Or you can buy each individual map-pack for $10.

Spartan-ops:  The first season of Spartan-ops (10 epiodes, 50 missions) is included for free with Halo 4.  Depending on popularity, there are plans for future seasons.  They have not discussed those plans.  

Important Note:  Microsoft has stated that in order to play Halo 4 MP gamers will need 8gigs of HDD pace available for a required install.  Though they have not said precisely what this is for, it has been speculated that this space is necessary to deliver to 1-2 hours of CGI being provided in the Spartan-OPs campaign.  In addition, like most MP games, the developer is recommending installing the entire game to ensure optimal performance.  In other words...delete some of the Demos you've never played, wipe out those 300 Skyrim saves, and make some room on that harddrive.

Halo Universe Explained: Part 7 - Halo 3 Aftermath

Halo 3 ends with the Chief destroying the Ark - the Forerunner Installation that builds Halos.  The race off the ark (the Warthog race that ends the game) has the Chief just barely making it onto the UNSC cruiser "Forward unto Dawn".  The cruiser tries to  jump slipspace, but just as it does the Explosion of the Ark hits the cruiser and rips it in two.  Half of the ship jumps safely away with crew in tack and is rescued by UNSC forces.  The tail end, where the Chief was, jumps away separately.  They survive, but with no working communication or navigation systems they are stranded, floating in space.  The rest of humanity believes the Chief is dead.  The legendary ending pulls out to show the Forward unto Dawn approaching a mysterious planet.

The events of Halo 3 seemingly ends the Halo threat.  Just as importantly, it ends the Covenant threat.  After realizing they had been lied to by the prophets all of the races that had been co-oped into the Covenant abandon the alliance.  The prophets that survive disappear.  The other minor races like the grunts and the Jackals are of little consequence to humanity.  Even the Elites (or Sangheili), the military wing of the Covenant seem of little threat because their leader - the Arbiter - has developed a respect for the bravery of the human race.  He desires to build a Sangheili/Human peace, so that the Elites can focus on rebuilding their home planet of Sanghelios.  The desire for peace is shared by the UNSC.  So all is well...

Not quite.  Turns out it is difficult for either side to move on after 30 years of a war of genocide.  There are factions on each side that are not willing to forgive and forget.  On Sanghelios, the Arbiter has a very lose grip on power.  A large faction of elites still want to destroy humanity.  For some it is still a religious matter - though they recognize the prophets lied, some still believe the Forerunner were Gods and still believe Humanity is an affront to those Gods.  Others simply do not trust humanity to keep any peace agreement. They want to finish humanity off before we have a chance to rebuild and grow stronger

There is one faction of humans who believe the same thing about the Elites - that once they rebuild, they will again turn their attention to destroying humanity.  The human intelligence community (ONI) knows that the Arbiter has a weak grasp on power.  They also know the faction opposing him want to finish humanity off.  ONI understand that given the 30 years of war, humanity needs a chance to rebuild.  So their objective is simple...make sure the Arbiter stays in power, while simultaneously funding the opposition to ensure the Arbiter's grip on power remains weak.  The idea is that if the Elites continue to fight each other, they can't fight humanity.  To do this ONI establishes a group of Agents known as Kilo-5 who make contact with the opposition and sells them weapons to use against the Arbiter.  Making this interesting is that the UNSC is unaware of ONI's mission and continues to work on a lasting peace agreement with the Arbiter.  So, one hand is shaking the Arbiter's hand, while the other is stabbing him in the back.

Another interesting element of the post Halo 3 universe is the role reversal.  Throughout the human-covenant war, the covenant had been technologically more advanced than humanity.  But after discovering a Forerunner-created planet (called a shield world) and unearthing a wealth of Forerunner knowledge that had been unknown even to the Covenant, humanity has become the most technologically advanced race in the galaxy.   Some of this advanced technology is used to build the Infinity - the 3.5 mile long starship that is the most advanced ship ever created by the UNSC.  The Infinity also houses the Spartan-4 program (which also benefits from the newly uncovered technology).  Both the Infinity, and the Spartan-4 program will play a significant role in Halo 4.

Also, the problems that humanity faced prior to the covenant war have returned.  The human insurrection that spawned the Spartan program has begun to once again gain power.  Interestingly, there is some evidence the human insurrectionists are being supplied Covenant weapons.  It is unknown, who is is providing them with weapons.  Turnabout is fair play I suppose.

So, If you have seen previews from Halo 4 and are wondering why the Chief is still fighting the Elites... this should explain that.  There is still a faction of Elites (and other races of the Covenant) that still worship the forerunners and want to see humans destroyed.

Halo Universe Explained: Part 6 - Precursors/Flood

This article is going to be a bit different.  Because so little is know about the Precursors and their connection to the Flood, this post will necessarily be based largely on my own speculation.  The Precursors have only just begun to be explored, most notably in the recent forerunner trilogy of novels.  Much of my information will come from the first two novels of that trilogy.  Warning - because I rely on those two novels this post will include some spoilers and should be avoided if you have any desire to read them.

I’ve already mentioned the Precursors in the post about the Forerunner.  While the Forerunner are idolized as Gods by the Covenant and their member species, it appears from the fiction to date that it is the Precursors who possess “God-like” powers – that is they appear capable of creating entire species.  The precursors are believed to have created the forerunner and humanity and presumably all other species in the Galaxy.  The Precursors were not of this Galaxy but they seem to have used it as a testing ground for the various species they created.  Turns out, not many of the species passed the tests.  For unknown reasons, the Precursors would eventually kill off the species they had created.  As I said in the Forerunner post, the precursors developed a pattern in which they would introduce species into the Galaxy, nurture them, and then without explanation, eliminate them.  

The Forerunners were scheduled to meet this fate as well.  However, they fought back and eventually pushed the precursors out of the Galaxy.  The Precursors seemingly disappeared, and after 100,000 years even the Forerunners had lost nearly all memory of the Precursors.  But the Precursors were not done with the Forerunner.  Instead they created another species and sent it to extract revenge against the Forerunners – that species was the Flood.

To talk about the Flood is to really talk about the Gravemind – which is the central intelligence of the Flood infection.  In truth there is not one Gravemind; each outbreak of the Flood can create a Gravemind that is unique.  The Gravemind is created when an individual Flood spore takes on multiple sentient beings.  This is known as a proto-Gravemind.  If not destroyed a proto-GM will devour more and more sentient beings and will eventually become self-aware.  At that point it becomes a full Gravemind and can move independently and can direct the remaining Flood spores.

The First Gravemind was captured by the Forerunners shortly after Ancient-Human/Flood war.  Because the Gravemind was sentient the Forerunners recognized its value as a source of information on how to combat the Flood.  Forerunner also recognized the risk of allowing the Gravemind to live.  They held it captive on a secluded and abandoned planet and began to interrogate the creature.   It claimed to be the last Precursor.  But other than that the creature spoke in riddles and gave the Forerunner's very little useful information.  However, when alone with individual Forerunners the Gravemind would tell them the secret of the Flood.  The knowledge was so devastating that when these individuals heard the secret they would immediately commit suicide.  Some believed the creature was simply manipulating these unfortunate Forerunner and all interrogations were ordered to stop.  Instead they ordered the AI Medicant-Bias continue the interrogation - thinking the AI would be safe from any manipulation.  In fact, the AI was corrupted and was under the influence of the Gravemind when he took over the Halo array and tried to fire them within the Forerunners capital city. 

The Gravemind remained captive for 10,000 years.  When the Forerunners test fired the first Halo ring the shockwave destroyed the prison that was holding the Gravemind and he escaped.  The Didact came out of his self-imposed exile to try and capture the Gravemind.  When he eventually captured the the Gravemind he was told the secret of the Flood.  The Creature informs the Didact that humanity did not defeat the Flood.  The humans only survived the Flood infection because the Flood chose not to infect humanity... it was not humanities time to be "tested", it was the Forerunners time to be tested.  Humans would be tested next, after the Forerunner were destroyed.

Until theire defeat at the hands of humanity, the Flood were viewed as an unstoppable force.  Humanities victory gave the Forerunner hope they the Flood could be defeated... they just needed to learn humanities secret.  But this knowledge turned the victory into a hollow one.  Humanity had defeated the flood simply because the Flood were not trying to win.  Their target were the Forerunners.  

This had huge implications for the rest of the Halo universe.  As discussed previously the Didact was opposed to the Halo rings.  He believed the Forerunners were capable of holding off the infection with military might just as the Humans had done.  But now he new humans hadn't really defeated the Flood. That is why, after trying every other means at his disposal it was the Didact that chose the fire the Halo array wiping out the universe of Sentient life.  In addition, the knowledge that humans were the next species to be tested is what led the forerunner to set humans up as their inheritor.  Humanities status as inheritor is what made the Prophets hate humanity, and it is the reason they were determined to destroy humanity.

There is a second theory about the Flood and the Precursors.  Instead of being a Precursor weapon, the Flood were their enemy.  Before turning their sights on the Milky way Galaxy is is possible the Flood had taken over what-ever Galaxy the Precursors had called home.  That would explain why the Forerunners were able to push the Precursors from the Galaxy - perhaps the Precursors where weakened by the Flood infection.  Having destroyed the Precursors galaxy, the Flood attacked our Galaxy.

Either explanation seems possible, though the fiction is certainly pointing to the idea that the Flood was a Precursor weapon sent into the Galaxy to destroy the Forerunners, and eventually humanity.  I would imagine the trilogy of games that begins with Halo 4 will begin to point to which theory is correct... or even point in an entirely new direction.  Either way it will be fun to uncover.

Halo Universe Explained: Part 5 - The Covenant

Anyone who has played the Halo games knows the Covenant as the primary antagonist throughout the trilogy.  But like many aspect of the Halo universe the games do a poor job of explaining why the Covenant hate humanity and why they want them wiped out of the universe.  Sure, you probably know they were trying to fire the Halo rings and if you were paying attention during a few cut scenes you may have heard some rumblings about the “great journey”.  You may have even gotten a sense of the division within the Covenant Empire that first begins to surface in Halo 2.   But if a casual halo fan was asked to describe either of those things I bet they would be at a loss.  Hopefully, after reading this post the answers to those questions will be clearer.

At a basic level the Covenant is a fanatical religious empire led by the Sha’ Shauum or theProphets.  The Covenant worships the Forerunners as Gods.  They believe the Forerunners had discovered a way to transcend the physical world and become omnipotent beings of the universe.  The Prophets believe the Forerunner achieved this state of being by firing the Halo rings.   Moreover, they believe that they – the Prophets – had been chosen by the Forerunners to be the Inheritor of the Forerunner technology and were destined to carry on the Forerunner legacy.  The Prophets believed firing the Halo rings would initiate the “great journey” that would allow them to transcend the physical world just as the Forerunner before them.

The prophets were an ancient and very powerful civilization, who initially existed along side the Forerunners.  They had been traveling the Galaxy for tens of thousands of years searching for and utilizing Forerunner technology in their pursuit of the Halo rings.  In their travels they would encounter other races and using the Forerunner technology they had uncovered would subjugate the races and fold them into the covenant.  Is these societies resisted, the forerunner would threaten to “glass” their planet (literally incinerate the planet so thoroughly, that the topsoil would turn to glass).   Most races would willing give in rather than risk extinction and would quickly adopt the Prophets view of the Forerunners and of the Great Journey.

However, the Elites were aware of the Forerunner and held a different view of the technology they had left behind.  The Elites viewed the technology as sacred, and its use was equivalent to sacrilege.  When the Elites first came into contact with the Prophets and the Covenant they were appalled at their use of Forerunner tech.  Being a proud warrior race, the Elites refused to bow to the Covenant and the two sides fought a long war of attrition.  Eventually they came to a truce and the Elites adopted the Covenant’s view of the Forerunner and reluctantly accepted the belief in the Great Journey.  In return the Elites were given a place of prominence as the military leaders of the Covenant Empire.  Other races incorporated into the Covenant include (in order of rank): the Brutes, Hunters, Jackals, and finally Grunts. 

When the Covenant first discovered humanity their plan was to fold them into the Covenant just like they had with every other race they had discovered.  However, before initiating contact with human the prophets uncovered a forerunner secret – it was humanity, not the Prophets that the Forerunners had chosen to be their inheritors.  The prophets feared that their authority and place within the Covenant would be at risk if humanities role as inheritor was ever uncovered.  With that, their plan for humans changed.  They would no longer offer humanity a place within the Covenant.  Instead they convinced the rest of the Covenant that Humanity’s very existence was an affront to their Gods.  As worshipers of the Forerunners, it was the Covenant’s duty to eradicate humanity from the universe.  Soon after, the Covenant attacked the planet Harvest.   

The Elites were always suspicious of the motives of the Prophets, but during the events of Halo 2 one of the more influential Elites -the Arbiter - discovered the truth about the Halo rings and the truth about humans being the true inheritors of the Forerunners.  These discoveries led to a splintering within the Covenant.  A large segments of Elites led by the Arbiter and segments of other species in the Covenant turned on the Prophets.  In turn the Prophets appointed the Brutes to take the place of Elites.  The resulting conflict became known as the "Great Schism".  

Though their feeling towards humanity had not changed entirely, the Elites recognized the they and the humans shared a common enemy - the Prophets.  That is why, during the events of Halo 3 the Arbiter fights at humanities side.  

As Halo 3 concludes the Covenant is no more.  The different species returned to their home world and began to rebuild.  However, as I am sure we will see in Halo 4, there is still a segment of the Covenant that remains and is dedicated to destrying humanity in the name of their Forerunner gods.   

The Rise of the Retro Game Market

Battletoads was one of my favorite games for the NES.  Not that I ever got very far in the game.  My 15 year old self just couldn't handle the challenge of what is widely considered one of the most difficult games ever made.  I've often thought if I could go back to the game as an adult, with all my years of gaming experience, could I get past that damn third level.

Well, with the boom in the retro gaming market it is conceivable that I could go back and find out.  Where I'm from, there are no less than 4 locally owned and very successful businesses that specialize in selling older titles - no current generation titles allowed.  It has been fascinating to watch these stores grow.  One of the more successful stores actually has multiple locations within the region.

I've wondered if this is a local trend, or if it is something happening across the country.  I think I got my answer this week when Gamestop announced they will begin selling retro games going all the way back to the NES.  For now they will only sell them online.  But if Gamestop has decided there is money to be made I'm assuming retro gaming is more widely popular and not just confined to my part of the woods.

Emulators that allow you to go back and play many of these retro titles for free have been popular for years, so why is this suddenly a trendy segment of the gaming marketplace?  I imagine it has something to do with the fact that members of the Mario generation are now entering the 30s and 40 and have more disposable income to spend, and are looking for ways to reminisce about their earlier days of gaming.  And walking into one of these stores definitely brings back memories.  Out of curiosity I went into one the local retro stores.  The first game that caught my eye was Bayou Billy for the NES.  I immediately thought of sneaking downstairs with my cousin after hours to play that game until 4 in the morning.  In one corner of the store was an CRT monitor set up with an NES playing the original Ninja Gaiden.  I immediately thought back to when a friend opened the game on his Birthday.  We rushed downstairs and passed up cake and an open pool ( on a very hot day) to sit in his basement and play for the remainder of his party.

Somehow I managed to walk out without buying one of the refurbished NES systems and a handful of the cartridges.

If you have a few of these stores in your area, I would highly recommend stopping in to look around.  If nothing else it will jog your memory.  But just in case...bring your wallet.

Halo Universe Explained: Update

The fourth entry in my write-ups on the Halo universe is posted Below.  After doing four of them and working on the fifth I can say...Damn, it is a lot of work.  I honestly thought I would be able to rip these off pretty quick.  Instead, after researching, writing and re-writing each post I'm struggling to finish one each week.  The Halo universe is so interconnected that I'm finding it difficult to compartmentalize each write-up.  It was near impossible explaining the Forerunners in the latest post without going into greater detail on the Precursors and the Flood, or the human covenant conflict.  Saying just enough about the relationship between topics, without saying too much is a real challenge.

I have enjoyed it though.  Writing each post makes me think about the Halo universe more than I ever have and is helping me better understand what is going on.  They say to fully understand something, explain it to someone else... and that has definitely been the case with these posts.

My concern is that since each post is necessarily incomplete that they may not be understandable or helpful to anyone actually reading them.

To any readers following along, I'd love some feedback.  Have these posts been understandable and helpful?  A yes/no in the comments would be plenty.   There is still time to alter my strategy with these posts and produce something useful before Halo 4 comes out.

On a related note...these Halo posts have been so time consuming they have kept me from more regular posts.  I'm planning on changing that this week.

Thanks.

Halo Universe Explained: Part 4 - The Forerunners

So much of the events of the Halo universe – both in the games and the expanded fiction – are dictated by the actions of the Forerunners.  Yet, to most casual fans of the game, almost nothing is known of the Forerunners.  I’ve already covered the Forerunners role in creating the halo array, and have discussed how their decision to fire the array 100,000 years ago in the face of Flood led to their extinction from the galaxy.  However there is more to the Forerunners than that.  For example, humanities unique ability to utilize the technology left behind by the Forerunner allowed humans to develop galactic space travel, create intelligent AI like Cortana, and even the Mjolnir armor worn by the Spartans. The forerunners are even at the heart of the conflict between the Covenant and humanity.

The forerunners were created millions of years ago by the Precursors.  The precursors were an even more ancient civilization that is believed to be responsible for all life in the galaxy (I'll delve a bit more into the precursors during the entry on the Flood).  While little is known of the Forerunners, even less is known of the Precursors.  However, the precursors tended to follow a pattern in which they created a species, fostered their development, and then deemed the species to be "problematic" and exterminated them.  Shortly after the Forerunners were created the precursors deemed them problematic and took steps to eliminate them.  However, the forerunners refused to just lie down and be eliminated.  They fought back and after a long struggle managed to defeat the precursors.  Over millions of years all records of the precursors were lost and by 100,000 years ago the Forerunners simply believed the Precursors had disappeared.

Since I have already discussed the Human-Forerunner conflict and the firing of the Halo Array I'll spend sometime discussing Forerunner society, their technology, and ultimately their unique connection to humanity.

Forerunner society was based on a series of classes.   The most prestigious class was the Builders, who were responsible for designing Forerunner technology - including the Halo array.  The next tier was the Miners, who supplied the raw material to produce the technology.  The next tier were Life-workers who were charged with performing medical and biological research.  Warrior-Servants were the military class.  And finally, the engineers were responsible for actually building the technology designed by the builders.  There were different ranks within each class.  For example, prometheon knights were the highest ranking Warrior servant.

One of the defining characteristics of the Forerunner is their armor. The armor is effectively an extension of the individual. Not only does the armor protect them is can be life sustaining - providing nourishment, hydration, and when necessary can provide oxygen to the individual. As the Forerunner grow and increase in rank their armor will grow along with them. The armor can also be implanted with a smart AI that will enhance the armors connection to the individual. This all should sound familiar if you've read the post on Spartans. It it believed that the Spartan armor was modeled after Forerunner armor technology. This is not confirmed, but Halsey (the mastermind behind the Spartan program) is an expert on Forerunner technology. It is possible the idea for the armor came from discovered forerunner technology.

Another feature of the Forerunner that relates to the modern game world is the development of super intelligent AI. The forerunner developed an assortment of smart AI that were capable of handling many important tasks for the Forerunner. One of the most important task was monitoring the Halos. These monitor AI (or monitors) were left behind by the Forerunners to oversee the operation of the Halos, and ensure that they could be activated again if the Flood were ever to return. In the recent novel Halo: Primordium, it was revealed that the monitors of the Halo Installations contained the minds (i.e. the experiences and memories) of ancient humans. The most famous Monitor - 343 Guilty Spark - contains the thoughts experiences and memories of an ancient human named Chakas.  Again there is a connection with human technology... Cortana - the AI housed in the Master Chief's armor - is based on the mirror image of the mind of Cathrine Halsey.

When not in armor the forerunner have a very human look to them.  In fact the Forerunners discovered that they shared a great deal of DNA with humans. This lead them to believe that the precursors had created both races to coexist and lead the galaxy. The human-forerunner war disrupted that vision, but it did not alter the Forerunners affection for humans. As such, before activating the Halo Array the Forerunners took steps to ensure that humans would repopulate the Galaxy. Moreover, the Forerunner encrypted their technology in such a way that it could only be activated by humans. The forerunners thought of humanity as the "inheritors" of what they left behind. If you think back to the games - you will recall that Guilty Spark refers to the Master Chief as an "Inheritor". Of course humanity is not aware of their status as the inheritor of Forerunner Technology.

Forerunners are believed to have been wiped out when they fired the Halo array.  The humans of the game world believe the Forerunner's sacrificed themselves to save the Galaxy from the Flood.  However, the forerunners made sure to save members of each species so to repopulate the Galaxy after the Array was fired.  Why didn't they save samples of themselves?  The truth is (as we are sure to find out in Halo 4), the Forerunners are not extinct.  But it is true that they are nowhere to be found in the Milky way Galaxy.  They seemingly left the Galaxy by choice and took steps to ensure that humans would have access to their vast technology, and would take over their place as the leaders of Galaxy.  The reason for this self imposed exile has not been fully explained - but there is no doubt that the reason will have a significant impact on the Halo Universe.  I'll speculate why they chose to leave the Galaxy in a future post when I discuss the Precursors and the Flood (yes the two are related and so will be in one post).

One other important fact.  The reason the Prophets wanted to see humans extinguished is because they were jealous that the Forerunner (who they view as their gods) chose humans to be the inheritors.  Not all of the covenant knew that, but the highest ranking prophets did.  They were concerned that if the rank and file in the Covenant found out about humanities role as inheritor, their own role as religious leaders would be questioned.  Instead, the Prophets convinced the rank and file that the humans were an affront to the Forerunners and it was the duty of the Covenant to extinguish them in the name of their Gods.

As I said most of what happens in the Halo universe has its roots in the actions of the Forerunners some 100,000 years ago.

Halo Universe Explained: Part 3 - Spartans

The Spartan Program

If you’ve only played the trilogy of games you probably have a particular view of the Master Chief and of Spartans more generally.  Spartans are noble heroes – super solders designed and created to defend humanity from the Covenant.  They are the futures version of Captain America, only instead of a shield, they sport an entire augmented suit of armor.  Before jumping into the extended fiction I found the Spartans to be pretty bland as hero figures go.  I was wrong.  In fact, it was when I learned of the Spartan Programs true purpose, and learned who the Spartans really were that I realized just how deep the Halo universe was.

So I’ll cut to the chase.   The Spartans were not designed to combat the Covenant.  Instead, they were designed to quickly and mercilessly put down a growing human insurrection that was threatening the United Earth Government's hold on power.  More shockingly, the Spartans you know from the games - Spartans like the Master Chief – were child soldiers.

Before jumping into that we need to discuss a bit more human history leading up to the initiation of the Spartan program. 

By the late 2200s humanity was in bad shape.  The planet was overpopulated and its resources had largely been depleted.  Unrest was growing.  Then in 2291 humanity discovered slipspace travel, which allowed them to travel the Galaxy.  The result was the establishment of earths first galactic colonies on resource rich planets - like the planet Harvest which became the bread basket of the Galaxy.  these new world eased the strain on resources and allowed the population to stabilize.  This was humanity's golden age.

The golden age didn’t last forever.  Toward the late 2400s protest began in what was known as the outer colonies.  The protesters demanded greater autonomy from humanities central government on Earth knaown as the United Earth Government (UEG).  Despite wide public support for protesters and their demands the UEG refused to even negotiate with the protestors.  As a result, the protests turned violent.  Small but costly battles between insurrectionist factions and the UEG's military wing the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) raged across the galaxy.  These "small" battles cost millions of lives, many of them innocent civilians.

As the insurrection grew the UNSC wanted a smaller tactical force that could go behind enemy lines and take out their chains of command – essentially, they wanted assassination squads.

The USNC turned to the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) – think the CIA – to develop such a team.  The result  was the Spartan program.  The best and the brightest in active duty military volunteered to undergo intense biological augmentation as well as grueling physical and mental training.  The 165 who adapted to the augmentation and passed the tests became Spartan Is.  The Spartan Is were fairly successful on early missions.  However, it quickly became clear that their abilities did not match expectations - that coupled with the cost of the program result in ONI pulling the plug.

But after the insurrection continued unabated for another 10 years there was renewed interest in the Spartan program.  The Spartan II program would be led by Dr. Catherine Halsey.  Dr. Halsey had studied the Spartan I program and believed she had the key to greater success.  She believed the intensity of the Spartan programs augmentation and training could not be successful if it was implemented on established soldiers – their mental and physical capacities had already been reached.  Instead the program needed to begin with younger subjects.  And by "younger", I mean no older than the age of 6.

The ONI team scoured the human genetic database looking for children with traits that would make them successful Spartans.  A number where identified.  Given the unlikelihood of Parents turning over their 6 years olds to become child soldiers, ONI instead turned to kidnapping.  And to mask the mass disappearance of 100s of 6 year olds, ONI left behind clones of the children so the parents would be none the wiser.  Sadly, these clones were not particularly healthy and all of them died within a few years.  Parents buried what they thought were their children, while unaware that their real children were still alive.

The selected 6 year olds were subject to intense physical and mental training that would be on par with SEAL training in the US military.  The indoctrination was so intense that all of the children would eventually forget details of their past - many would even forget their own names and would have to be assigned a new one.  Many died.  Others were killed when they tried unsuccessfully to escape.  When those who remained reached puberty the physical augmentation program began.  They were also fitted with a weaponized suit of Mjolnir Armor - each suit of armor could cost as much as a mid-size starship.  The results were incredible.  The Spartan IIs stood upward of 8ft tall; they had superhuman strength, agility and intelligence, were master strategists and could learn the most complex weapons systems in seconds.  One Spartan II stood out as the best – John 117 – better known as The Master Chief.

The Spartans were well on their way to eradicating the insurrection when the covenant struck the planet Harvest in the year 2525.  Their attention was diverted to deal with the grave alien threat.  If not for the Spartan program, humanity may not have survived the first Covenant onslaught.  In the year 2552 the Covenant attacked the planet Reach.  Reach was the home and the base of operations for the Spartan program.  When the planet was glassed every Spartan (except one) was killed.  The Master Chief narrowly escapes as the Pillar of Autumn enters slipspace and jumps away from the planet just before the planet is glassed.

While the Covenant war wages on, ONI attempts a third Spartan Program.  The Spartan IIIs were orphans who lost their parents in the Covenant war.  They have been described as Spartan IIs made on the cheap.  Unlike the kids in the Spartan II program, the orphans in the Spartan III program had not been genetically screened, so they were less capable of handling the stress of the training regiment. As a result fewer survived the training, and the ones that did were less mentally stable.  There were even fears that they would eventually go insane. 

After the covenant war ends ONI initiates a Spartan IV program.  There are very few details o the Spartan IVs, but they are expected to play a large role in the trilogy of games that begins with Halo 4.

So keep this in mind the next time you play Halo.  The Spartan that fans have come to know and love as the Master Chief was once a 6 year old ripped away from his parents, forced to go through the equivalent of Navy SEAL training, forced to undergo horribly painful physical augmentation all so UEG leaders could assassinate rebel leaders rather than give into their seemingly reasonable demands.   

Did I mention the Halo universe is deeper and darker than you might think. 

Free-for-all mode in Next Gears?

According to an upcoming issue of OXM Magazine the next installment of the Gears of War series will add a Free-for all mode to multiplayer.  It will be the first time a FFA game type has appeared in the series.

Though I love to see developers add new elements to a game going on it's fourth installment, I'm not sure how FFA will play out in the Gears universe.  Gears is a game designed from the ground up to played as a team.  A FFA game type seems like it would eliminate some of the game play features that make Gears such a unique MP experience.  For example, does cover become completely obsolete when you have no teammates watching to be sure no one comes up behind you with their shotgun ready to turn you to bits?  Also, Radar has always seemed to me to be a must in FFA games to serve as a cheap substitute for teammates.  Does that mean we can expect a radar in a Gears game?  Not sure how I feel about that.  

Halo Universe Explained, Part 2 - Humans

What Role Do Humans Play?

The humans that make up the Halo universe share our history.  They exist in a world that witnessed the American Revolution, the World Wars, and Apollo's moon landing.  They are what we become 500 years from now.

However, there are another set of humans that are equally important in the Halo Universe - ancient humans.

In the Halo fiction humans have existed for at least 160,000 years.  Roughly 100,000 years ago these humans had discovered slipspace travel, allowing them to traverse the Galaxy in seconds.  These ancient humans existed alongside the Forerunners, and were nearly their technological equals.

Despite being near equals, it was the Forerunner that had the most influence in the Galaxy, a fact humans came to greatly resent.  The animosity resulted in the humans aligning with a species called the San 'Shyuum.  The San 'Shyuum was humanities biggest trading partner at the time - and in a twist, they are  the species that become known as the Prophets and lead the Covenant against humanity during the trilogy of games.

Humanity and their allies fought bravely versus the Forerunner and may have even won if not for monumental bad luck.  At some point during the war with the Forerunner, humanity had first contact with the Flood.  Immediately recognizing the threat the Flood posed, humans directed a significant portion of their resources to battling the Flood.  Surprisingly, the humans prevailed against the Flood- pushing them out of the Galaxy.  Unfortunately, a two front war was too much.  Victory against the Flood resulted in defeat at the hands of the Forerunners.

The Forerunner were compelled to significantly punish both the Prophets and the Humans.  The Prophets cut a deal, and as a result were allowed to keep their technology, but were relegated to their home world and forced to live under strict Forerunner supervision.  Humans refused to cut a deal and as a result, their punishment was more severe.  Humans were stripped of their technology and the memories of how to build the technology.  They were "de-evolved"back to a hunter/gather state and were restricted to their home planet of Earth.  How humans were de-evolved is never explained, but their are hints in the expanded universe that Forerunners had the technology capable of striping memories from individuals.

Despite punishing them, the Forerunners had a great deal of affection for humans.  The Forerunner recognized a great deal of similarities between Forerunner and human DNA.  This led the Forerunner to believe they had both been created by the Precursors - the Forerunner Gods.  The forerunner were also impressed with the Humans ability to defeat the Flood - something the Forerunners had been unable to do.  The Forerunner did not want to de-evolve humanity as they were afraid the secret to defeating the Flood may be lost.  But humanity's refusal to accept a deal left them no choice. 

And so, it was these de-evolved humans the Librarian collected and stored on the Ark for safe keeping.  And after the Halos were fired it was these de-evolved humans that were used to "reseed" the Galaxy.

Fast forward 100,000 years - give or take- and humans have rediscovered slipspace travel and are once again traveling the universe.  Colonies have been established to both ease the burden of a growing population (30-40 billion), and to provide much needed natural resources.  One of these colonies is on a planet named Harvest - so named because of its bountiful agricultural resources.  In the year 2525 Harvest becomes the first human planet to be discovered by the Covenant.  The resulting battle for reach kicks off the human covenant war that is the catalyst for the trilogy of games.

There is more to discuss with the modern day humans, but what remains will be covered next week when I discuss humanities greatest weapon - Spartans and the Spartan program.

Halo Universe Explained, Part 1 - Halos

What is a Halo?

The simple answer is Halos are weapons that were created more than 100,000 BC by an ancient alien race known as the Forerunners.   But they are not just any weapon - Halos are a Weapon of Mass Destruction on a galactic scale.  

A total of twelve Halos (AKA the Halo Array) was designed to combat a particularly devastating enemy known as the Flood.    The Flood come from outside the known galaxy and predate the Forerunners.  The Flood are a parasitic life form that feeds on any biological life.  Once one Flood spore attaches itself to another being it turns that entity into a zombie-like creature.  A single spore can multiply rapidly and can quickly unleash…well…a Flood.  Despite their advanced technology and weapon systems the Forerunners had no way of combating the Flood with their conventional weapons.  

The Halo Array was the Forerunner's answer to the Flood problem.  Here's the catch, firing the Halos did not kill the Flood, it killed the Flood’s food supply.  In other words, the Halos were designed to kill all biological life in the galaxy.  Like I said, a WMD on a galactic scale.

At the time of the original trilogy of Halo games there were 7 halos in the galaxy.  Each one could be activated individually, or all 7 could be activated from a single location known as the “the Ark”.  The Ark is located outside the Milky Way Galaxy and is therefore safe from the halos devastating effect.  Each Halo installation is supervised by a Monitor - a powerful AI that maintains the functions of the Halo. For reference, 343 Guilty Spark (the floating Orb with the green eye) is a monitor that appeared in the original trilogy. Halo 3 culminates in Master Chief arriving at the Ark to shut down the remaining Halos before they fire.  

So what happened to the other 5 Halos that the Forerunners built? They were destroyed when a rampant monitor took control of the Halo Array (to be discussed in a later post) and tried to fire them near the forerunners capital world. In trying to prevent the Array from being fired, the Forerunners destroyed 5 of the Halos.

There was a great deal of in-fighting among the Forerunners over the creation of the Halos. It turns out not all Forerunners were happy with a plan to defeat the Flood by destroying all known life in the Galaxy.  In fact, many found the very notion to run counter to the “mantle”, the guiding principle that dictated the way Forerunners lived.  Think of it as the forerunner equivilant to the 10 commandments.  The “mantle is never fully explained, but the Forerunners seem to believe it involves respecting and preserving all known life.

A high ranking member of Forerunner society know as the Master Builder was the primary proponent of the Halos.  A military figure ( and the Master builder primary rival) known as the Didact opposed the creation of the halos. The Didact argued that the Flood could be contained in "Shield Worlds".  The Didact's wife, an influential Forerunner known as the Librarian, wanted to ensure that regardless of the approach taken to defeat the Flood all known life would be preserved - one way or another.

The Master Builder convinced the Forerunner governing council that the Flood threat was too great to risk containment.  More drastic measures were necessary.  As a result the Council commissioned efforts to build the ultimate weapon...a weapon that would eventually become the Halos.

However, as a compromise the Librarian convinced the Council to grant her the authority to collect specimens of every species in the known galaxy and keep them safe.  Her goal was to ensure that the Galaxy could be repopulated if unleashing the power of the Halos ever became necessary  The only safe place from the Halos effect were the Halos themselves.  The safest place was located outside the galaxy at the “Ark”.  The librarian collected numerous species and maintained them on various Halo Installations, including the Ark.

The Halo Array has been fired only once. Roughly 100,000 BC, after expending all other options to defeat the flood, the Didact (who originally opposed the creation of the Halos) ordered the Array (7 Halos) be fired as a last ditch effort to save the Galaxy from the Flood. As a result the Forerunner species and all other life in the Galaxy was eliminated. The only evidence that remained of the Forerunners existence was their advanced technology - including the Halos, their ultimate weapon.

So the Halos were and are a galactic weapon of mass destruction, that ultimately lead to all biological life in the Galaxy being destroyed. However. the Halos were also effectively zoos that guaranteed life could return to the galaxy after they were fired.

Halo Universe Explained - Prologue

Halo is favorite gaming franchise.  While I love the games multi-player the element of the game that initially sold me is the fiction.  Funny thing though about the fiction - even after playing the first two games of the franchise, I could not have told you a single thing about the games story.  The narrative of the first two games was so confusing, I basically stopped paying attention not far into Halo: CE.  I played the Halo games because they were fun, but generally I didn't care one bit about the story or the broader Halo universe.

That changed during the lead up to Halo 3... in a big way.  While perusing the internet, I stumbled on a website/blog that was dedicated to all things Halo.  The author of the blog had compiled the cutscenes from Halo 1 and 2 and provided an analysis of what was going on.  He also had posts that recapped the broader universe as depicted in the first few Halo novels.  As I read through his blog posts I realized just how rich and deep the Halo universe is.  I also realized how extraordinarily bad the Halo games were at conveying the depth and richness of that universe.

That is a shame.  I'm hoping 343 Industries is better, but in reality the universe is sooo deep that I understand how hard it must be to fit in the narrative around the structure of a game.

To me Halo is to gaming what "Lost" was to television.  Like Lost it is filled with mysteries and unexplained events.  Like lost, it is wonderfully frustrating how just when you think you understand whats going on, something is revealed that makes you question everything.  And just like Lost a good portion of the fun of being a Halo fan is wondering "what the hell is going on"

Unfortunately without a broader context of the universe, a casual Halo fan will never get to enjoy that mystery.  It would be like watching a single episode of Lost half-way through the 3rd season, being completely lost as to what is going on, and wondering what all the fuss is about.  I want more people to enjoy Halos fiction the way the thousands of passionate fans do.  But to do that one would have to be willing to dig into the expanded universe made up by the novels and movies.  For most players that is unlikely.

So, to help bring more people along for the ride that is Halo, I decided to do a series of posts that provide brief (but sufficiently detailed) breakdowns of key aspects of the Halo universe.  The goal is to provide some background and context that allows players not versed in the extended universe to better understand what happened in Halo:CE through Halo 3, and more importantly explain some of the events that lead up to Halo 4.

The first Post will go live next Monday and will start with an explanation of what exactly the Halo are (may seem obvious, but its not), what they are used for and where did they come from.  Following that I will release one post every Monday leading right up to the launch of Halo 4.

Though I will have done my research for each post, I should be clear my posts may well contain information that is incomplete or even inaccurate.  If one aspect of the game interests you check out A halo wikipedia for more detailed information of each topic.  Check back on Monday for my first entry.

Pre-Order Charts and What they Can Tell Us.

Below is data on the retailer pre-orders through the week ending August 11, 2012 as compiled by VGChartz.com.  I love game sales data of any kind, but I find this pre-order data particularly interesting.  My intention is to track these weekly charts and occasionally pull some interesting tidbits.  For example, I've always wondered how closely pre-orders reflect actual first month sales. Is there a general rule of thumb that can be applied - say for example - do pre-orders equate for 40% of first month sales? If so then Darksiders II should sell roughly 550,000 copies in its first month of release.  Actual sales data is difficult to come by, but I may try so I can develop a rule of thumb.

Secondly, measuring how pre-order numbers respond to events in the gaming media seems like a good why to see how marketing can effect game purchases.  I'd be interested in tracking how pre-order numbers change following a big MP reveal, for example.

With all the big releases coming out this fall, now may be the time to start tracking these pre-order figures and seeing what they can tell me.

1	Halo 4	X360	13	23,269	554,994
2	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	X360	14	63,367	552,957
3	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	PS3	14	41,133	335,175
4	Assassin's Creed III	X360	12	7,156	310,556
5	Borderlands 2	X360	6	18,708	289,127
6	Guild Wars 2	PC	21	8,778	221,272
7	Assassin's Creed III	PS3	12	5,517	201,356
8	Borderlands 2	PS3	6	3,645	129,927
9	Madden NFL 13	PS3	3	26,792	126,486
10	BioShock Infinite	X360	34	577	126,308
11	Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon	3DS	438	881	124,807
12	Darksiders II	X360	1	13,060	122,201
13	Darksiders II	PS3	1	6,779	98,220
14	World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria	PC	7	15,165	97,119
15	Hitman: Absolution	X360	15	1,716	88,732
16	Animal Crossing	3DS	438	595	79,544
17	Hitman: Absolution	PS3	15	1,415	75,938
18	Final Fantasy XIV Online	PS3	N/A	274	75,373
19	BioShock Infinite	PS3	34	391	73,278
20	Borderlands 2	PC	6	2,250	68,511